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Orioles Notes: Henderson, Mateo, Urias

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Orioles star Gunnar Henderson provided a positive update on the status of his intercostal strain yesterday, telling reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASN) that he’s “feeling good” as he works his way back to the field in hopes of being ready for Opening Day. Henderson first suffered the injury in late February, and after nearly three weeks of rehab the shortstop expressed some optimism about his situation.

“It’s getting there,” Henderson said, as relayed by Kubatko. “It’s a lot better than what it originally felt like.”

He went on to add that his “plan” is to be active and in the lineup for Opening Day against the Blue Jays on March 27, and hopefully get into some Spring Training games before then as well. While he wasn’t in either lineup for today’s set to split squad Grapefruit League games, Opening Day is still almost two weeks away which should offer the Orioles a bit of time to work with as they look to get Henderson up to speed in time for the start of the regular season.

Losing the shortstop for any amount of time would be devastating given that he was one of the top players in the entire sport last year. After impressing in a 32-game cup of coffee during the 2022 season, Henderson won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2023 before making his first All-Star game last year and finishing fourth in a stacked AL MVP class behind Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto. If Henderson were to miss time, the club could slide Jackson Holliday over to shortstop from second base, with a potential bench player like Livan Soto handling second or perhaps Jordan Westburg moving to the keystone to make room for Coby Mayo at the hot corner. Of course, for now the Orioles seem to be focused on preparing Henderson for the start of the season rather than potential alternatives.

While Henderson seemingly remains on track to break camp with the club, the same cannot be said for utility man Jorge Mateo. As noted by Kubatko, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Friday that it’s “very doubtful” Mateo will be ready for Opening Day. The versatile hitter has spent the spring recovering from elbow surgery, and recently expressed optimism that he’d be able to make it back in time for Opening Day. That optimism isn’t entirely unfounded, as Mateo is making his spring debut today. With that being said, the final decision of Mateo’s readiness will come down to Hyde and GM Mike Elias, both of whom have now expressed doubt about Mateo’s odds of breaking camp with the club.

Back to more promising injury news, infielder Ramon Urias has been slowed in recent days by a sore hamstring but is not expected to miss significant time due to the issue. Kubatko writes that the 30-year-old went through a full slate of defensive work and took batting practice yesterday, while MLB.com’s Jake Rill notes that Urias told reporters this morning that his hamstring is feeling better and that there’s “no concern” about his ability to be ready for Opening Day. Urias is in neither lineup for today’s split squad games, but both he and Hyde expressed optimism that he would be back in the lineup for Baltimore in relatively short order.

Bryan Shaw Reassigned To Reds Minor League Camp, Will Report To Triple-A

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The Reds announced a series of roster cuts this morning, most notably including right-hander Bryan Shaw. Shaw, 37, signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati back in December, but it is customary for non-roster veterans to have opt-out opportunities built into their contracts even if they (like Shaw) don’t qualify as Article XX(B) free agents who receive uniform opt-out opportunities as mandated by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Given this reality, it’s typical for a veteran who is reassigned to minor league camp to explore alternate options in free agency rather than report to the minors and stick with their current club. That’s not the path Shaw is taking, however, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes that Shaw has decided to stay with the Reds organization and report to Triple-A Louisville when the season begins. That news was relayed to reporters by manager Terry Francona, for whom Shaw pitched in seven seasons with Cleveland.

“He wants to stay,” Francona said, as relayed by Sheldon. “The guy has pitched 16 years. I’ve seen him have springs like this and then he goes out and throws in 81 games and faces the middle of the order all the time. That just wasn’t the position he was in this spring and he’s inconsistent with the strike zone. His stuff is still fine. And we were thrilled he wants to go to Triple-A. He can still do it.”

Shaw, 37, was a second-rounder by the Diamondbacks back in 2008 who made his big league debut during the 2011 season. Since then, the veteran reliever has posted a 3.96 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 4.05 FIP throughout his career, which has seen him throw 764 1/3 innings of work across 14 MLB seasons. He’s struggled with ineffectiveness over the past three seasons, however, pitching to a lackluster 5.00 ERA with a 4.54 FIP across 108 frames with the Guardians and White Sox. That decline in performance has seen Shaw’s opportunities at the big league level begin to dry up somewhat; he pitched in just five big league games for the White Sox last year before spending the rest of 2025 in the Angels organization at Triple-A Salt Lake, for whom he posted a solid 4.14 ERA even in the tough offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

After a lackluster spring where he posted a solid enough 4.05 ERA in seven appearances but walked (9) more batters than he struck out (7), Shaw is once again ticketed for Triple-A at least to begin the season. The fact that the veteran is sticking around in the minors is welcome news for the Reds, however, given the club’s relative lack of relief depth on the 40-man roster. While some arms set to serve as rotation depth like Carson Spiers and Lyon Richardson could theoretically be used out of the bullpen, right-hander Yosver Zulueta is the only full-time reliever on the club’s 40-man roster not already projected to make the club’s Opening Day bullpen. Given the frequency with which injuries pop up across a 162-game season, that should leave plenty of room for even players not yet on the 40-man roster such as Shaw to make a case for themselves at Triple-A and pitch their way onto the big league club over the course of the coming campaign.

Red Sox Notes: Abreu, Devers, Newcomb

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Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been out of action this spring due to a gastrointestinal virus that, as of last week, had kept the 25-year-old from even swinging a bat this spring. That led to plenty of questions about whether or not he would be ready in time for Opening Day, but as noted by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic yesterday, he was cleared to play in today’s Grapefruit League game.

It was a major step forward for Abreu, who told reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) that he expects to be ready for Opening Day later this month after acknowledging that he’ll need “some more reps” before he’s in regular season form. Notably, Abreu lost considerable weight as a result of the virus but has said that he doesn’t view that weight loss as a concern as he still feels as strong and mobile as ever. If Abreu does prove to be ready for Opening Day, that would be a major relief for a Red Sox lineup that appears poised to rely on a platoon of him and Rob Refsnyder in right field this season. The sixth place finisher in AL Rookie of the Year voting last year, Abreu won a Gold Glove for his work in right field while hitting .253/.322/.459 (114 wRC+), including a 126 wRC+ against right-handed pitching.

Abreu was joined in his return to the lineup by star teammate Rafael Devers. Devers has gotten plenty of attention this spring after the club’s signing of third baseman Alex Bregman, as the Red Sox have thusfar refused to anoint either Devers or Bregman as the Opening Day third baseman in the aftermath of Devers’s vocal opposition to a move off the hot corner. The slugger has struck a more conciliatory tone in recent days, however, as Bregman has been used almost exclusively at third this spring while Devers was slowed in camp after rehabbing a shoulder injury throughout the offseason. Devers was back in the lineup alongside Abreu today, however, and manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Smith) that the duo will get time on the backfields tomorrow before returning to the lineup on Monday as they ease back into regular playing time.

With Devers and Abreu both seemingly making good pace to start for the Red Sox on Opening Day, much of the intrigue in the final weeks of Red Sox camp seems likely to be focused on the rotation. Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Tanner Houck will feature in the club’s starting five, but the last two spots are up for grabs after Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford were all delayed in camp by various injuries. 40-man roster arms Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, and Quinn Priester have long been known to be in the conversation for those spots, but Cora told reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe) today that non-roster southpaw Sean Newcomb is also in the mix for a rotation job.

Newcomb, 31, was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 2014 and had success in both the rotation and bullpen with Atlanta during the early years of his career. He posted a 3.87 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 332 1/3 innings of work across the 2017 to 2019 seasons, but the wheels came off during the shortened 2020 season and he’s struggled every since. Over the past five seasons, he’s posted a 6.66 ERA with a 5.49 FIP in 98 2/3 innings, the majority of which came out of the bullpen. The southpaw has been nothing short of dominant for the Red Sox this spring, however, and his 0.93 ERA in 9 2/3 frames has seemingly given Boston’s decision-makers enough to think about that he has a chance at starting the season not just on the roster, but in the rotation.

Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

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It was another modest offseason for the Pirates, who are banking on their young arms to carry them into contention.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $19.95MM
Total spending: $19.95MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

It's been a rough few decades for the Pirates. They didn't make the playoffs between 1993 and 2012. They then got three straight Wild Card berths, but advanced to the NLDS just once. They started a new playoff drought in 2016 that continues to this day.

There have been some signs of potential lately. In 2023, they were 20-9 at the end of April, but they went 8-18 in May and finished at 76-86. They hovered near contention last year, sitting at 48-48 at the All-Star break, but again finished at 76-86.

Despite those losing seasons, there are exciting elements on the roster. Their collection of rotation talent is one of the best in the league, fronted by Paul Skenes but also including Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Mike Burrows and Thomas Harrington. They also have position players Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz in place for years to come.

Ideally, the club would have invested around this young core, but that didn't come to pass this winter. The offseason included one notable trade, which is essentially a risky bet on a late bloomer, and several modest free agent signings. They gave out seven one-year deals, none of them worth more than $5.25MM, spending less than $20MM in total. Some of those moves are fine in isolation but the total package is underwhelming.

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Diamondbacks Sign J.P. Feyereisen To A Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander J.P. Feyereisen to a minor league deal, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate Reno Aces.

Feyereisen, 32, was a 16th-round pick by Cleveland all the way back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut in the shortened 2020 season, when he made six relief appearances with the Brewers. That brief cup of coffee aside, Feyereisen’s real first crack at a significant role with Milwaukee came in 2021. The right-hander posted a solid 3.26 ERA in 19 1/3 innings with the club early in the year but was eventually shipped out to the Rays alongside Drew Rasmussen as part of the trade that brought Willy Adames to Milwaukee in May of that year.

The right-hander found another gear in Tampa and performed excellently the rest of the way, with a 2.45 ERA in 36 2/3 innings of work for an overall season ERA of 2.73 in 55 innings. Feyereisen’s peripherals left something to be desired, with a 4.21 FIP thanks primarily to a massive 14.1% walk rate. Those peripheral concerns vanished in 2022, however, as Feyereisen posted an otherworldly start to the season for Tampa. In 24 1/3 scoreless frames for the Rays to open the year, Feyereisen cut his walk rate to just 5.8% while striking out 29.1% of opponents with a 1.67 FIP and a 2.93 SIERA. It was on pace to be one of the better relief seasons in recent memory, but unfortunately Feyereisen’s campaign was cut short by a shoulder injury.

The shoulder woes eventually wiped out the right-hander’s entire 2023 campaign after he underwent surgery on his rotator cuff. While Feyereisen returned to the mound (now as a member of the Dodgers) in 2024, his results left much to be desired. Feyereisen was shelled to the tune of an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings with L.A. in the majors last year, and even in the minors he struggled to a 5.48 ERA with a strikeout rate of just 17.9%. That led the Dodgers to outright Feyereisen off their 40-man roster last July, allowing him to elect free agency back in November. He’s been on the open market since then, but will now land in Arizona and attempt to work his way back into a big league role.

The Diamondbacks have spent the offseason in search of bullpen help, but have not yet secured the lock-down closer they were hoping to find. While Feyereisen is hardly a sure thing, there’s few relievers in the game who have showed the sort of upside he flashed during his stint with the Rays. If Arizona can unlock even some of that ceiling, it’s not hard to imagine Feyereisen pitching high leverage innings for the Diamondbacks at some point this season. For now, however, the right-hander appears ticketed for Triple-A Reno where he’ll look to get his career back on track.

Jose Trevino Avoids Fracture On Right Thumb

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4:55pm: Wittenmyer reports that today’s CT scan showed no fracture, and that Trevino will likely avoid the injured list. He’s currently considered day-to-day by the club.

4:23pm: Reds catcher Jose Trevino was pulled from yesterday’s game after being struck on his throwing hand by a foul tip. As noted by Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Trevino was sent for “precautionary” x-rays that came back inconclusive yesterday. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon noted today that Trevino was being sent for a CT scan on his thumb, though results of that latest round of testing have not yet been reported.

Losing Trevino would be a devastating blow to Cincinnati, as they’ll already be without primary catcher Tyler Stephenson to start the season due to an oblique strain. That left Trevino as the club’s starting catcher to open the season, with Austin Wynns likely to slot in as the club’s backup. Acquired from the Yankees for veteran reliever Fernando Cruz over the offseason, Trevino hit a lackluster .230/.279/.361 in three seasons with the Yankees but offered a strong glove behind the plate.

If Trevino also misses time, Wynns may need to be supplemented with an external addition given the club’s lack of depth options behind the plate. Will Banfield and Michael Trautwein are both in camp as non-roster invitees, but neither has played in the majors before and each has less than 100 games of experience at even the Triple-A level. Adding a new catcher into the fold isn’t something the Reds seem keen on doing, as Wittenmyer notes that manager Terry Francona expressed a strong preference to keep the catching corps in-house.

“We don’t want to do that. I think we value guys that know our pitchers,” Francona said, as relayed by Wittenmyer. “And again, I don’t think it’s going to be a terribly long time (without Stephenson). But having somebody try to come in right now, hoo-boy, that’s a pretty big ask, trying to put down the right fingers and why you’re doing it.

An injury to Trevino could complicate that desire to avoid an external addition, particularly if Trevino requires a lengthy absence. Fortunately, the early signs seem to be positive about Trevino’s ability to play come Opening Day. Trevino himself seems confident he won’t need a trip to the injured list, as he told reporters (including Wittenmyer) that he “could play today.”

Of course, Trevino’s confidence that he can play doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he’ll avoid an injured list stint. That will surely depend to at least some extent on the results of today’s testing. If the Reds do end up needing to pursue an external option behind the plate, Yasmani Grandal is the best catcher still available in a fairly shallow market for catching talent. It’s also possible some non-roster veterans like Tucker Barnhart and Omar Narvaez could be made available in the coming weeks if they don’t break camp with their current clubs.

Marlins Claim Seth Martinez

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Seth Martinez off the Seattle waiver wire, as announced by the Mariners.  It wasn’t known that Martinez had been designated for assignment, and Martinez only joined the Mariners on another waiver claim from Miami less than two weeks ago. The Marlins went on to announce that left-hander Andrew Nardi was placed on the 60-day injured list with low back inflammation to make room for Martinez’s return to the 40-man roster.

Martinez, 30, was drafted by the Athletics in the 17th round of the 2016 draft but has spent his entire MLB career in an Astros uniform. The right-hander made his big league debut in 2021 for an ill-fated cup of coffee where he surrendered five runs across three innings of work, but provided solid middle relief work for the Astros since then. Martinez’s 2022 season was particularly impressive, as he dominated to the tune of a 2.09 ERA across 38 2/3 innings of work with a 24.5% strikeout rate against a 9.0% walk rate. That production wasn’t entirely supported by more advanced metrics, but his 3.32 FIP and 3.56 SIERA still suggested even his underlying performance was that of a quality relief arm.

Unfortunately, Martinez has not been able to maintain that level of success in the years since. The right-hander’s 2023 campaign was something of a disaster, as he struggled to a 5.23 ERA with a 4.42 FIP in 43 innings of work. While his ERA was inflated by a below-average strand rate and a more than 100-point jump in BABIP, his walk and home run rates both crept upwards as well to make the struggles more than simple bad luck. While the luck-based factors in Martinez’s 2023 season reversed in 2024, allowing him to post a solid 3.59 ERA in 52 2/3 frames for Houston last year, his skills took a major step backward as his strikeout rate plummeted to just 16.2% while he surrendered the most home runs of his career.

Those struggles led the Astros to designate Martinez for assignment back in November, and he’s been riding the waiver wire ever since. The right-hander was first claimed by the Diamondbacks and spent most of the offseason with Arizona, but was DFA’d once again to make room for veteran hurler Kendall Graveman on the Snakes’ 40-man. He was picked up by Miami shortly thereafter and since then has been shipped to Seattle, and now will land back in Miami as a potential bullpen arm for a Marlins club with plenty of interesting rotation arms but very little certainty in their relief corps.

Things are even more unsettled in the Miami bullpen due to Nardi’s placement on the shelf. The southpaw entered camp behind schedule but the club provided little information about his situation, instead only noting that he had “some stuff flare up in the offseason.” Evidently, Nardi’s back issues are serious enough that the club does not anticipate him being ready to pitch before the end of May, an unfortunate development regarding one of the club’s better relief arms. The lefty posted an ugly 5.07 ERA in 2024, but underlying metrics suggested his performance was much stronger than that. He struck out a whopping 33.3% of opponents faced, walked just 8.6%, and kept hard contact to a minimum en route to a 2.76 xERA, a 2.77 SIERA, and a 3.33 FIP.

All of those figures were much more in line with the production Nardi posted in 2023, when he pitched to a 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings of work. Given his excellent peripherals last year and previous success, Nardi seemed to be a likely candidate for a late-inning role with the Marlins this year. This injury will put that on hold for at least the season’s first couple of months, and perhaps longer depending on Nardi’s timetable for a return to action.

Jesus Sanchez To Miss At Least Four Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

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Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez suffered a left oblique strain during Thursday’s Grapefruit League game against the Astros, as Miami manager Clayton McCullough told reporters (including MLB.com’s Chuck King).  The injury will put Sanchez on the injured list to begin the season, and he’ll miss at least the next four weeks recovering.

That timeline is a little fluid, as McCullough said tests revealed Sanchez has somewhere between a Grade 1 and Grade 2 strain.  “That’s one of those areas and things that are kind of tricky to nail down.  Category one, you’re looking at [a return], probably optimistically…like a month from now,” McCullough said.

Given the perpetual overhaul that is the Marlins roster, Sanchez is the team’s longest-tenured position player, having played 446 games with the Fish since making his big league debut in 2020.  A top-100 prospect during his time in the minors, Sanchez has shown some flashes of that potential in the Show, but is still looking to find consistency.  His career 99 wRC+ (from a .240/.308/.428 slash line and 59 home runs) reflects how Sanchez has ultimately been pretty average, and his career slash just about matched his numbers during a 100 wRC+ season in 2024.

Sanchez had settled into a regular role as Miami’s right fielder over the last two years, and was projected to again get the bulk of the work in right in 2025, though the Fish were considering giving him more looks in center field.  These plans will now be put on hold until Sanchez is healthy, and his absence creates a hole in the Marlins’ outfield.

Recent reports indicated that Derek Hill was pulling ahead of Dane Myers for the regular center field job, though Myers might now be utilized in right field with Sanchez out.  Griffin Conine and utilitymen Javier Sanoja and Eric Wagaman provide further depth on the grass, and Albert Almora Jr. is more of a veteran outfield option in camp on a minors contract.

Since the Marlins are in clear rebuild mode, it is worth noting that this injury might also impact Sanchez’s trade value, even if there isn’t any indication that he wouldn’t be back in plenty of time before the July 31 trade deadline.  Sanchez is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is earning a $4.5MM salary for the 2025 season, making him the second-priciest player on the Miami roster apart from Sandy Alcantara.

Tigers Working Out Spencer Torkelson As An Outfielder

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Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling will both be starting the season on the Tigers’ injured list, while Wenceel Perez is also a bit of a question mark after he received a cortisone shot to deal with a lingering back problem.  With so many absences already in the Detroit outfield, the team is getting creative in looking for answers, as manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including the Detroit Free Press’ Jeff Seidel) that Spencer Torkelson has been getting in some outfield work, and will play right field in the Tigers’ game with the Pirates on Monday.

Hinch made it clear that Torkelson will get “just a sprinkle” of time in right field and “you’re not going to see him out there routinely….but we’d like it to be part of the availability in game work.”  Even if the Tigers still view Torkelson as a first base/DH candidate, adding some versatility obviously can’t hurt his overall resume, plus it presents another avenue to get his bat into the lineup.

Torkelson played some outfield during his summer league days and at college at Arizona State, but since being selected first overall in the 2020 draft, Torkelson has played only third and first base as a professional.  Nevertheless, Torkelson is “excited for an opportunity” in a new role, and is happy to help the team as much as possible: “We had really key players kind of go down this spring, and…in the time being, we got to find ways to compete and win, and I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Despite his top-prospect status, Torkelson has yet to really get going at the MLB level, as he followed up a promising 2023 campaign with a borderline disastrous 2024.  Torkelson hit only .219/.295/.374 over 381 plate appearances, though his offense did pick up after he returned to the Tigers following a Triple-A stint of over two and a half months.  After Detroit signed Gleyber Torres this winter and subsequently moved Colt Keith from second to first base, there was speculation that Torkelson might even be a trade chip, as the Tigers seemed to be squeezing him into a part-time DH role at best.

However, Torkelson has been on a tear at the plate this spring, perhaps helping his chances at a more regular turn in a DH role.  Torkelson’s case for playing time has been helped by the fact that he is one of relatively few right-handed hitters within a Tigers lineup that tilts heavily to the left, plus the outfield injuries could mean that Kerry Carpenter gets more work in right field than at DH.  Torkelson himself now could be considered for the occasional cameo in right field as situations warrant.

It now seems possible we could get the unlikely combination of Torkelson in right field and Javier Baez in center field at some point during a game, which speaks to the depth issues that have been caused by this sudden spate of outfield injuries.  Chances are that Detroit will simply lean more on utilitymen Andy Ibanez or Zach McKinstry to fill holes while Meadows and Vierling are out, but finding more versatility on the bench (even from unexpected sources) is now a must

Jon Gray Suffers Wrist Fracture

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TODAY: A clear recovery timetable hasn’t yet been determined for Gray, but president of baseball operations Chris Young told Kennedi Landry and other media that Gray will indeed be out for an “extended time.”  It will be at least six weeks before Gray is even cleared to start throwing, so it seems like Texas will be placing him on the 60-day IL at some point before Opening Day.

MARCH 14: Rangers starter Jon Gray sustained a broken right wrist during this evening’s Spring Training appearance, manager Bruce Bochy tells Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and other reporters. Gray was struck by a Michael Toglia line drive that had a 106.4 MPH exit velocity (video provided by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com).

Bochy didn’t provide specifics on a return timeline. Gray is obviously going to begin the season on the injured list and will probably be down for a while. It’s the worst of a handful of pitching injuries for Texas this spring. They announced just yesterday that presumptive fifth starter Cody Bradford was going to begin the season on the injured list after experiencing elbow soreness. An MRI came back clean, but the team is going to be cautious with any level of elbow pain.

Tyler Mahle was scratched from his start earlier this week with forearm soreness. Imaging didn’t reveal any problems and he’ll begin throwing in the coming days. Still, that may require a season-opening IL stint — especially since Mahle just returned from Tommy John surgery midway through 2024.

That placed a lot of emphasis on Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Gray to stay healthy. The season-opening rotation now likely comprises deGrom, Eovaldi, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. Mahle would round out the group if he can avoid the IL. They otherwise could push expected long reliever Dane Dunning back into the rotation or turn to veteran ground-ball specialist Adrian Houser, who is in camp on a minor league deal. Houser has tossed eight innings of two-run ball with three strikeouts and walks apiece this spring. He allowed a near-6.00 ERA over 69 1/3 innings for the Mets last season.

The rotation’s durability is arguably the biggest question for Texas. deGrom and Eovaldi are 36 and 35, respectively. deGrom has made 35 starts over the last four years. Eovaldi has mostly been durable recently, but he has twice undergone Tommy John surgery in his career. Rocker underwent the same procedure in May 2023. He pitched fewer than 50 innings between the minors and his three-start MLB debut late last season.

Texas will probably look to add minor league rotation depth as veterans opt out of contracts with other teams in the coming weeks. It’s less likely that they’ll make an MLB signing. The Rangers were clear all offseason that they wanted to keep their luxury tax payroll below the $241MM base threshold. RosterResource projects them around $236MM at the moment. Salary acquired in-season via waivers or trade would add to that on a prorated basis. It’d be a surprise if ownership approves going beyond the tax line to sign a free agent starter like Spencer Turnbull or old friends Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn. With less than two weeks until Opening Day, none of those pitchers are likely to be game ready for the start of the regular season.

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